Why can't we buy a win lately?

[scrabbleship]

Someone should have the answer. I'll be called a nut for this I'm sure, but perhaps Will Brown's magic has run out?

[Clickclack]

Someone should have the answer. I'll be called a nut for this I'm sure, but perhaps Will Brown's magic has run out?

 

This is a valid question. No doubt this team is not improving, if anything this team looks to me to be actually regressing from earlier in the year. Everyone is tight, no one is on the same page. When Will was playing well, Ambrose and Raffa were really struggling, Ambrose shows signs of life Will can't score all of a sudden. I know he's hurting right now, as is Raffa. Billy Allen plays in a number of games and is sitting recently, McRae can't get into a game until the most recent two. It seems that the roles on this team have not been adequately defined from the outside looking in, these players look confused. With four games to go one would hope the rotation would be nailed down by now as well as the starting lineup.

 

I think the coaching staff would admit that right now, everything they are doing and telling this team is falling on def ears. Watching last nights game the TO's were absolutely inexcusable, player receiving the ball would bobble it and get it stolen, the pass comes into a guy with two guys near him which got stolen etc. Unforced error after unforced error, 4 TO's to start the game last night! No FG for the first 9 or 10 minutes...that simply cannot happen.

 

Last night we turned it over TWENTY times....to SB's 8. We had half of their TO's in the first 4 minutes. SB is also a very very young team starting a transfer and a bunch of young kids, yet they can turn it over 8 times to our 20. That simply boggles the mind. We turned it over 19 times at Bing.

 

I support Coach Brown, he did take two teams to the NCAA's, he's also finished a number of years in the top half of the conference, hasn't had a losing season since 04/05 so no way did he all of a sudden forget how to coach. I wasn't at the game but based on what I could see from the camera's he wasn't really screaming or yelling at the players (I don't think screaming will help), I saw him calmly teaching Raffa, talking to him on the sideline crouched in front of him.

[DanesRGood]

I've watched almost every game this year except two or three. Here is my take.

 

NOTE: I'm no Xs and Os guy with hoops and I hope I explain this right. I also like Will Brown a lot and don't think he's lost his "magic".

 

Turnovers and ball control. The sloppiness is horrible. It looks to me like they are just running plays like they would in practice with no defenders on them. "OK, right when you get the ball, pass it to this guy cutting here." So in the game the ball goes to say Gifford at the top of the key and he immediately turns and throws it to someone along the wing without really even looking. Just doing it because it is memorized and that is what is pounded into him but if a defender is there or the player cuts, like Hastings did last night, it's a tunrover. Also, I've never seen so many attempts to pass the ball to one player who is covered and forcing it to them, which causes a lot of turnovers. Last night for example towards the end of the game they tried to force the ball to Ambrose everytime down the court but they couldn't get the pass to him off the screen. So, they wait and fake and Ambrose runs around more but the D sticks with him until finally they can get him the ball after wasting time and now he is very far from the basket and gets doubled. Now what? Turnover? Or maybe a turnover on the pass to Ambrose? The offense just looks stagnant to me.

 

Another issue I see is the plays that are specifically to shoot a 3 pointer. They don't seem to work very well. There seems to be someone right in the shooters face and they either shoot anyway or pass off and the offense halts. To me the best play for a 3 is a drive and kick. That is when you get open threes, not off screens when everyone in the gym knows you are running a play for Barraza to shoot a 3.

 

Last point, can we please allow Harris, Ambrose and Raffa to create a little more? How about a little clear out play once in a while? The pass goes to Ambrose or Harris on the wing and there is another player on the baseline, another at the top of the key and someone in the low post. Ambrose/Harris has no where to go without a double coming quickly. Give them some room and when the double comes they can kick it out.

 

I don't know, maybe I'm just some dumb fan who doesn't know what their talking about but this is what I see. I hope things get better over the next few games and we head into the tourney on a run. This team has talent but is young. Maybe Harris and Raffa should sit out a few games to get healthy for the tourney.

[Clickclack]

Maybe Harris and Raffa should sit out a few games to get healthy for the tourney.

 

I've thought the same thing, Will was rolling prior to getting hurt, he isn't giving us much ever since the BUMA game. If they sit this Sunday, the team doesn't play again until the following Sunday, they could get 9 or 10 days off to heal.

[Patch]

From my perspective it as simple as certain players think they are better then they are.

 

Raffa, Ambrose and Harris 110 turnovers in 12 AE games. In our most recent games in spite of our turnovers we have still been within a few points with a few minutes to go.

 

Raffa has shown he has no desire to make his teammates better and just wants to do his thing. 24 assists in 12 AE games,

 

Ambrose - we all wanted to see alot of him last year and now we're getting it and we should be able to see why Coach struggles with him in AE play 27 assists 48 TOs. Last night 5 FGs v. 6 TOs

 

Will Harris in my opinion is soft, when things are going his way he's a cheerleader when not he pouts or disappears. I can see now why someone so physically gifted struggled in the ACC.

 

These are the three guys we expect to carry the team???

 

Coach Brown talks about lack of Basketball IQ, what I see is basketball stupidity.

 

This team has zero leadership and zero mental toughness.

 

Still if they learned to value the ball they could win out and save the season.

 

13-12 and playing like crap!!!!!

 

Coach Brown has to take the heat but the players have to start being accountable and stop thinking it's someone else causing the problems.

 

Just my ignorant opinion.

[Clickclack]

From my perspective it as simple as certain players think they are better then they are.

 

Raffa, Ambrose and Harris 110 turnovers in 12 AE games. In our most recent games in spite of our turnovers we have still been within a few points with a few minutes to go.

 

Raffa has shown he has no desire to make his teammates better and just wants to do his thing. 24 assists in 12 AE games,

 

Ambrose - we all wanted to see alot of him last year and now we're getting it and we should be able to see why Coach struggles with him in AE play 27 assists 48 TOs. Last night 5 FGs v. 6 TOs

 

Will Harris in my opinion is soft, when things are going his way he's a cheerleader when not he pouts or disappears. I can see now why someone so physically gifted struggled in the ACC.

 

These are the three guys we expect to carry the team.

 

Coach Brown talks about lack of Basketball IQ, what I see is basketball stupidity.

 

This team has zero leadership and zero mental toughness.

 

Still if they learned to value the ball they could win out and save the season.

 

13-12 and playing like crap!!!!!

 

Coach Brown has to take the heat but the players have to start being accountable and stop thinking it's someone else causing the problems.

 

Just my ignorant opinion.

 

I totally agree with this post. We can dump on CB all we want, and I'll be honest, last night I thought to my self has CB lost this team, has the luster faded a bit from the back to back NCAA runs? As a paying customer and a fan of UA basketball first, I don't always agree with CB (I hate losing players to transfers, I've had a problem with some of the things he's said in the media etc) but he isn't the one throwing the ball away. In fact I find that he is trying to work with the players, he isn't yelling, ranting and raving, he's been pretty composed trying to teach. The entire team deserves blame for this mess, including the coaches. Coaches need to coach and establish some consistency with the rotations, define roles, SIT PLAYERS if they are injured and can't contribute. And players need to play, catch the ball before you start running with it. How many times did Timmy bobble the ball last night because he was already thinking about what he's gonna do with it before he even got it? How many times does Raffa throw it at Will's feet? It drove me crazy when on one particular play in the UVM game we had a 3 on 1 with Raffa in the middle of the court and he tries to do it on his own and got called for the offensive foul if memory serves. Just shows you the mentality.......... Why is Will shooting as many three's as he is? OHHHH for 11 in the last three games means STOP shooting so many. When the outside shot is falling....great keep firing them, otherwise concentrate on driving the ball and working on the inside.

 

No one can get a clean look because we have 4 guys running around on the outside, so there is no space for anyone to get a clean look, drive and kick is non existent. Everything looks rehearsed instead of instinctual.

 

Just some observations, I don't coach for a living and if I did I'd probably suck at it because I get carried away and a bit crazy, but I hate losing and this team is killing me. It's like crack cocaine, I know I need to put it down BUT I CAN'T

[UA'08]

From my perspective it as simple as certain players think they are better then they are.

 

Raffa, Ambrose and Harris 110 turnovers in 12 AE games. In our most recent games in spite of our turnovers we have still been within a few points with a few minutes to go.

 

Raffa has shown he has no desire to make his teammates better and just wants to do his thing. 24 assists in 12 AE games,

 

Ambrose - we all wanted to see alot of him last year and now we're getting it and we should be able to see why Coach struggles with him in AE play 27 assists 48 TOs. Last night 5 FGs v. 6 TOs

 

Will Harris in my opinion is soft, when things are going his way he's a cheerleader when not he pouts or disappears. I can see now why someone so physically gifted struggled in the ACC.

 

These are the three guys we expect to carry the team.

 

Coach Brown talks about lack of Basketball IQ, what I see is basketball stupidity.

 

This team has zero leadership and zero mental toughness.

 

Still if they learned to value the ball they could win out and save the season.

 

13-12 and playing like crap!!!!!

 

Coach Brown has to take the heat but the players have to start being accountable and stop thinking it's someone else causing the problems.

 

Just my ignorant opinion.

 

I totally agree with this post. We can dump on CB all we want, and I'll be honest, last night I thought to my self has CB lost this team, has the luster faded a bit from the back to back NCAA runs? As a paying customer and a fan of UA basketball first, I don't always agree with CB (I hate losing players to transfers, I've had a problem with some of the things he's said in the media etc) but he isn't the one throwing the ball away. In fact I find that he is trying to work with the players, he isn't yelling, ranting and raving, he's been pretty composed trying to teach. The entire team deserves blame for this mess, including the coaches. Coaches need to coach and establish some consistency with the rotations, define roles, SIT PLAYERS if they are injured and can't contribute. And players need to play, catch the ball before you start running with it. How many times did Timmy bobble the ball last night because he was already thinking about what he's gonna do with it before he even got it? How many times does Raffa throw it at Will's feet? It drove me crazy when on one particular play in the UVM game we had a 3 on 1 with Raffa in the middle of the court and he tries to do it on his own and got called for the offensive foul if memory serves. Just shows you the mentality.......... Why is Will shooting as many three's as he is? OHHHH for 11 in the last three games means STOP shooting so many. When the outside shot is falling....great keep firing them, otherwise concentrate on driving the ball and working on the inside.

 

No one can get a clean look because we have 4 guys running around on the outside, so there is no space for anyone to get a clean look, drive and kick is non existent. Everything looks rehearsed instead of instinctual.

 

Just some observations, I don't coach for a living and if I did I'd probably suck at it because I get carried away and a bit crazy, but I hate losing and this team is killing me. It's like crack cocaine, I know I need to put it down BUT I CAN'T

 

two words JAMAR WILSON

 

that is the reason why we went to the tournament twice.

 

will brown is not the reason we went twice.

 

jamar wilson was a blessing from the skys

 

as we can see from the past two seasons these teams are just not good.

 

how can you have 1 guy on the team right now from the 06-07 recruiting class

 

if they would have brought in the right players those guys from 06-07 would be the leaders

 

there is obviously something wrong with the coaching staff.

 

i was at the game yesterday and will brown was ready to pull rafa literally 45 sec in. he sent johnson right to the scorers table to check in.

 

ambrose played very little in the first half and for what reason? he wasnt in foul trouble.

 

how can you excpect to have a team play together and gel in game situations when theres about 35 different lineup combos.

[Dane Pound]

Always interesting to see what a four game losing streak does to us as fans. Nine days ago we were a contender and both the coaches and players were pretty good. Now they all seem to be bums.

[UA'08]

Always interesting to see what a four game losing streak does to us as fans. Nine days ago we were a contender and both the coaches and players were pretty good. Now they all seem to be bums.

 

just saying one special player can bring a team a long way

[Clickclack]

As players graduate, the underclassmen should pick up the slack and fill those roles. It has been my belief for a at least a year now that as a program we have been hurt by the defection of allot players. I know there are all kinds of reasons for it, some didn't want to be student athletes but rather just athletes. Some didn't like to sit and wait their turn, some were misses on the recruiting trail, can't get them all right and some kids won't work out. Having said that....7 new players (the '08 class)....Will Harris, Logan Aronhalt, Jake Lindfors, Scotty McRae, Mike Johnson, Louis Barazza, Anthony Raffa are allot of new faces to integrate and teach the system to. Combine that with next years class of Blake Metcalf, Ralph Watts, John Puk and Gavin Glanton thats 11 new faces in 2 years. Simply insane! Think about that, basically an entire new team in two years time...that you have to teach all of the sets to, mold together, develop someone to be an on the court leader etc.

 

The biggest thing I'd really like to see happen this spring/summer is the graduation of Jerel, Jimmie and Brian and that's it. One guy leaving (should someone decide to leave)....I can deal with that, I'll be disappointed as a fan if there are more defections. This roster needs to basically come back intact next season. There is allot of talent, allot of the talent is young and inexperience but no more 5, 6 or 7 player recruiting classes.

 

I disagree with the notion that it was all Jamar who put us on the map, sure he was a great player but CB recruited him, CB or someone on his staff recruited and fit most of the pieces around him. Give credit where credit is due....did the staff have some misses on the recruiting trail? No doubt....Reid Anderson, Mike Yocum, Josh Martin (reasons other then on court), Rob Moores all didn't work out. But there have been plenty that did.

[Phoenix]

UA08..do you remember who recruited Jamar?..that would be Coach Brown..we weren't good last year?..we finished with the second best conference record..who were these 'right players' that you would have brought-in in 06-07?..he pulled Raffa because he chucked the ball away to Stony Brook about 5 seconds after we got the ball for our first possesion of the game..not exactly the way you need to start a game on a 3-game losing streak riddled with turnovers..ambrose played 28 minutes yesterday, right in line with his average..the team had 11 TOs in the first half (a number of those from Ambrose)..I'm glad Coach Brown uses a variety of match-ups throughout a game..when you start off 14-4 with no FGs in the first 10 minutes of the game, obviously the line-up out there is not working.

 

Right now I feel like we can beat any team in this conference..unfortunately we can also lose to just about any team as well..hopefully the former is more common for the last 4 games and the conference tournament.

[UA_MA_2000]

Interesting perspective provided by Mark Singelais of the Times Union. Funny that I thought of the play-in game scenario this morning when looking at the standings (falling to the 8th seed is a very real possibility for us if we don't turn it around), but I never thought about the overall consequences for the Tournament were we not to be in it come Saturday afternoon!

 

 

The America East’s worst nightmareFebruary 13, 2009 at 1:08 pm by Mark Singelais, Staff writer

While it’s unlikely to happen, the UAlbany men’s basketball team is flirting with sliding all the way into eighth place in the America East if the Great Danes don’t get it turned around soon.

 

The Great Danes (5-7 America East) are tied for fifth thanks to a four-game losing streak. And they’re only a half-game ahead of seventh-place New Hampshire (4-7) and a game ahead of eighth-place Maine (4-8).

 

UAlbany plays its next two games at home against UNH and Maine, so these two contests are crucial.

 

UAlbany hosts the conference tournament on March 6-8 at SEFCU Arena. How well would it sit if UAlbany ended up in the opening-round game on Friday, March 6 that pits the eighth seed against the ninth seed (likely Hartford)?

 

It would be a disaster for the America East if the quarterfinals rolled around on Saturday with host UAlbany not in them.

 

***********

 

Maybe we knew it was going to be a long night against Stony Brook on Thursday when the public-address announcer called UAlbany’s Will Harris “Logan Aronhalt” during the pre-game introductions.

 

That drew some quizzical looks from the UAlbany bench since Aronhalt has played only one minute this season because of a foot injury. Not to mention that Harris and Aronhalt will never be mistaken for identical twins.

[Clickclack]

It's a bit funny and sad at the same time but my oh my....how far the expectations have fallen We competed and played well especially in the second half of a couple of these losses and have beaten the top three teams but you'd think we were win less or something. I'm more concerned with the complete lack of progress of this group as a whole, and it seems like they are actually unraveling as the pressure mounts with each loss. Gotta stem the tide somehow.

 

On a separate note, how far have we come as a program, SB fans are having a great time this season because they are in fourth place......we have come to expect nothing less then a top three finish otherwise.....it's mass suicide watch. I guess it's interesting to see how different the reaction is from two very different groups of fans.

[UA'08]

all these players are looking behind their shoulders to see if they are going to get plucked. would you be able to play comfortably if you knew if you made a mistiake youd be yanked? there was a play in the second half when will harris committed a foul and will brown was making a substitution. harris thought he was getting pulled and you were just able to see him starting to get upset, but it was hastings that was pulled.

[Clickclack]

all these players are looking behind their shoulders to see if they are going to get plucked. would you be able to play comfortably if you knew if you made a mistiake youd be yanked? there was a play in the second half when will harris committed a foul and will brown was making a substitution. harris thought he was getting pulled and you were just able to see him starting to get upset, but it was hastings that was pulled.

 

I had the same thought on that one....you do have a point there! It was very obvious from the TV that Will thought he was going to the bench.